Profile: Chris Douglass

Chris Douglass is
the Carl Yastremski of Boston chefs – he’s been around the
longest with a high batting average leading the same team.
Come to think of it, Tim Wakefield might make an equally
fair analogy: the knuckleballer owns the longest stint as a
Red Sox, is a durable and dependable veteran, paces himself,
goes the distance quietly with an unassuming air, never
acting the prima donna. Douglass reminisces about Boston
culinary history and tells his survivor’s tale. Just as
Douglass’ deceptively simple signature preparations revel in
local produce and marry great fresh flavors, the wine list
at his restaurant, Icarus, is uncomplicated, reliable, a
clear bell – not a jumbled carillon – of largely familiar
favorites. Icarus’ living-room interior and relaxed
atmosphere keep the comfort level high and its coterie of
South End and city-wide regulars returning under that
familiar awning at 3 Appleton Street.

GROWING
CLIENTELE Icarus has
been a Boston restaurant for 26 years, and I’ve been a part
of it for 22. The original partners, John Bellott and Tom
Hall, opened Icarus in 1978 when there wasn’t a whole lot
happening in the South End – a depressed area with lots of
burned out buildings. They, a few developers and several
visionary homesteaders were the area’s pioneers. The
original storefront restaurant at 54O Tremont Street grew to
take over an adjacent space.

FLIGHT
SONG I met John and Tom
in Provincetown, summer of ’78; we were all working at Poor
Richard’s Buttery in Provincetown. Back in town, they opened
Icarus while I worked at Another Season with Odette Bery on
Beacon Hill. I kept in touch with them, ate there, liked the
vibe, respected their changing the menu daily, keeping it
fresh and interesting. ‘Icarus’ was not the mythological
Greek high-flyer, but a favorite song by Paul Winter’s
Consort they’d play among the dining room tapes. I started
with them 1982, worked my way up under Tom Hall, became a
partner when we moved here in 1987, and bought them out in
1999. This space was previously Lulu White’s, a New
Orleans-style jazz club where soul chef Willard Chandler
presided in his red hat. It had later brief reincarnations
as a middle-east nightclub, Athens By Night, and a
discotheque, Fantasies II. When we renovated, it was an
archaeological dig, peeling back layers down to Lulu’s
red-flocked wallpaper.

SEASONS
PAST Odette was a very
good teacher – she’d gone to Cordon Bleu and had excellent
classic foundation. At 21, I learned a tremendous amount
about technique, quality, and the business. Michela Larson
had her first restaurant job with Odette and me, before she
opened her first restaurant in the Carter Ink Building near
Kendall Square. I cultivated a passion for cooking, and keep
my interest by not remaining static, trying new things. Food
is like fashion: trends come and go. Some restaurants that
have been around 25 years opened with a formula and stuck
with it. They are what they are. Durgin Park has done what
they do forever. I maintain success by adapting and
changing.

KEEP it
SIMPLE, SMART What
hasn’t changed is my attention to detail – focus on clean,
strong flavors. What’s different is my dishes are simpler
now, with fewer elements on the plate. I’ve whittled away at
that as we’ve found our niche, and make more of my own
statement now than 2O years ago.

EMULATING
FRANCE When we opened,
we all looked towards France for inspiration, and with envy.
The French had a passion for producing really good food –
their farmers grew excellent produce, their meats and
cheeses were excellent. We all struggled to get quality
ingredients then, but look what’s happened since. Americans
have done a tremendous job of food production. We have many
farmers who bring foodstuffs to my kitchen door.

FRESHNESS
PAYS Eero Ruutila
produces wonderful vegetables on his farm in Litchfield, NH
– mesclun greens, tomatoes, baby leeks, baby fennel,
carrots, potatoes, haricots verts, squashes, herbs, etc. We
use other purveyors, too, like Russo, of course, but it’s
nice to keep in touch with the farmers to see what they may
have a lot of one week, and adapt our menu to their seasons.
Nature’s seasons do not line up with spring, summer and fall
– our menu evolves little by little all year long. Niman
Ranch is not one place but a collective of farmers who breed
pork under a protocol – that translates to extra
intramuscular fat, flavor and succulence. The pigs aren’t
fed growth hormone or antibiotics. They get outdoors, which
also means flavor. We also love Colorado lamb, and buy our
rabbits, pheasant and quail from Vermont.

DIRECT
WINES Just as we keep
the menu fairly simple, we keep our wine list with the tried
and true. We don’t want any “dogs” on the menu, or on the
list. Why carry inventory if we don’t sell it? We do want to
offer wines that people can’t find everywhere, but at the
same time, we want them to find things that make them
happy.

STEADY
REDS We’re mainly
California and France, and have been for years. Michael
Martin, my GM for four years, puts together our wine list.
California Sauvignons have been a mainstay for us. Some
wineries that we’ve stuck with are Shafer and Matanzas
Creek. We’ve served Stag’s Leap, Grgich Hills, Robert
Mondavi, and Silver Oak – forever.

OLD
FAVORITES There are
some dishes that have been on the menu since 1987 –
customers won’t let me take them off. Polenta with braised
mushrooms, grilled shrimp with mango-jalapeno sorbet. Some
wines just go with the dish, though it’s harder to keep
European entries current – some names that used to be
favorites are now priced too high. From France we keep
Guigal (Viognier and Hermitage); from Italy, Antinori’s and
Monsanto’s Chianti Classico Riservas, and also well-priced
Sangioveses, like Umberto Cesari’s Liano and
Paretaio.

NEW
WRINKLES Pinot Noir,
especially now from Oregon – Bethel Heights and Patricia
Green – goes beautifully with our game dishes – lamb and
duck year ’round, rabbit and venison in the winter. But
we’re also featuring Southern Hemisphere wines, from South
Africa, South America and Australia, more often. We’ve done
well with robust reds like Rosemount Show Reserve Shiraz,
Montes Alpha Syrah and Catena Malbec.

HOT
WHITES Pinot Gris have
become popular and we carry some strong examples: Rex Hill
(Willamette), Hugel’s Tradition (Alsace), Jermann (Collio).
But California Chardonnays are trumps: Acacia, Chalk Hill,
Flowers, Kistler, Sonoma Cutrer.

PHILOSOPHY
We take what we do seriously, but we enjoy a good time. Our
guests’ experience matters to us. Informality rules – we
have no dress code, and it’s not chef’s whites and toque in
the kitchen, either. We listen to Red Sox games while
cooking. This business can chew you up and grind you out.
There’s enough stress just trying to get things right; I
don’t want to add to it with stuffy attitude, or yelling at
people.

HOT KROSS
JAZZ Another good guest
experience is our long-standing Friday night jazz policy.
Mark Kross has played jazz piano here going on twelve years
now. Mark’s relaxed, sharp – invites in a rotation of guest
players like trumpeters Herb Pomeroy and Dave Whitney,
bassist Marc Pucci, reedman Billy Novick.